Police arrested Milosevic (pictured, left) before dawn Sunday in Belgrade, ending a 27-hour standoff at his villa. His aide said that Milosevic surrendered voluntarily and was taken away in an armored vehicle, according to CNN.
Four to five shots were heard from inside the villa before the announcement.
The arrest came after an earlier unsuccessful attempt to seize Milosevic, who has been indicted by the UN war crimes tribunal and accused by his own government of corruption and abuse of power.
Yugoslavia's president said Milosevic's options had run out and that he could not escape being brought to justice.
The standoff began early Saturday, when armed loyalists turned away an attempt to arrest Milosevic. Milosevic rejected a warrant for his arrest and reportedly said that he'll never be taken alive.
Milosevic reportedly called the police "NATO servants."
The Charges
Milosevic is wanted by the United Nations war crimes tribunal in The Hague for alleged involvement in atrocities against Kosovo's ethnic Albanians.
Belgrade officials have said that any trial would be in a Yugoslav court.
They say that he's wanted on domestic charges of abuse of power and corruption.
Zarko Kovac, the Serbian Deputy Prime Minister, told CNN that Milosevic will be up on charges for "financial misconduct and embezzlement." He emphasized that his arrest would not prevent further, more serious charges from being brought upon the former dictator.
The U.S. Congress had set Saturday as a deadline for Belgrade to begin cooperating with the U.N. war crimes tribunal, which wants to try Milosevic in the Netherlands. Washington threatened Belgrade with suspension of $100 million in aid if it did not comply.
But on Friday, the State Department said Secretary of State Colin Powell had delayed making a decision until Monday on whether or not Yugoslavia is in compliance.
Since he was ousted from power last October, Milosevic has been the subject of police surveillance.
Russia Speaks Out
Russia says that it's up to Yugoslavia to resolve the standoff with Milosevic and other countries should stay out.
A spokesman for Russia's foreign minister says that "any pressure from outside" on Yugoslavia's leaders would be interference in sovereign affairs.
And he tells the ITAR-Tass news agency such interference could "weaken the position of the democratic forces" in Yugoslavia.
Russia has been an ally of the dominant Serbs in Yugoslavia fordecades.
